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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Superman vs. Bizarro: What Comic Books Teach Us About the Difference Between One Law and Bilateral Ecclesiology

The other day my daughter was battling a cold and brought me some books to read to her. It was a box of these little superman comics. One of the stories, shown above, was Superman Versus Bizarro. In this story...well, I'll just tell you what it says because I have it right here on the couch:

Page 1:

"Bizarro likes to fix things,
but he only causes trouble.
His thinking is all backward."

Page 2:

"Bizarro spies a kitten in a tree.
'Bizarro must save tree!' he says.
He rips it out of the ground.

Page 3:

"A Boat is sinking in the river.
'Bizarro will stop the river,'
says the alien.

Page 4:

"Bizarro hits a bridge hard.
Bits of rock fly down.
The river starts to flood!

Long story short, Bizarro rampages around the city trying to do good but only causing destruction because he's bizarro logic (which worked great on Bizarro World) doesn't work so well in our world.

Last page:

" 'You have a big heart,' Superman
tells Bizarro.
'But you are a better hero on Bizarro
World!'"

So this morning I was transcribing Neusner's One Law Treatise in which he shows from normative Jewish writings that Torah was always intended as a universal religion for all of humanity. For example:

"The one and only God has given the Torah to show humanity embodied in Israel the way back to the land that is Eden," pg. 12

And I was also in the process of transcribing David Rudolph's lecture in which he says the exact opposite:

G-d gave the Torah to an Israel composed solely of ethnic Jews.

History shows us that Christian Theology operates like Bizarro. It tries to do good but, because of its twisted logic, causes a lot of damage. David Rudolph has a heart for peace even as he preaches doctrine that (literally) tears congregations apart.

The Prophets show us that One Law operates like Superman. One Law will overcome the twisted logic that wreaks havoc on divided humanity and help all Believers in the G-d of Israel to see themselves as the family of Israel, united around Yeshua and Zion (from whence the Law shall go forth).

To the One Law movement, I say "keep searching for the core values":

Learn Hebrew

Walk in tension with the rabbis (rather than simply showing contempt)

Promote communal holism (rather than extreme individualism)

Restore representative, plural elders to leadership (rather than a hierarchy where one man rules all)

Create gemeinschaft communities where MAXIMAL integration exists (realizing that this is a bit like a marriage and shouldn't be entered into lightly)

And many others. With Messiah's help, we are going to get there. We're not going to lose 2000 years of impurities in a single generation. We are going to build healthy families and put the third and fourth generations in a position to be global representative of Yeshua.

2 comments:

I do appreciate your fifth point of action and believe this is exactly where the Congress I am attending in two weeks is going... Studying and figuring out how to build solid communities that are integrated, uphold Torah and honor Yeshua.